Forming apparatus



P. M. DONAVAN FORMING APPARATUS May 19, 1970 Filed March 27, 1968 3SheetsSheet 1 INVENTOR. PA TRICK M. DON/IVAN BY fiflmma WM ATTOR/VE Y5May 19, 1970 P. M. DONAVAN FORMING APPARATUS Filed March 2?. 1963 sSheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. PA TRICK M. DON/4 VAN ATTO/Q/VE Y5 May 19, 1970M. DONAVAN FORMING APPARATUS a sheets sheet 3 Filed March 27, 1968 40 25I I O 38 INVENTOR. PATH/CK M. DON/WAN United States Patent 3,512,388FORMING APPARATUS Patrick M. Donavan, Schaumburg, Ill., assignor toWeiler Engineering, Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill., a corporation ofIllinois Filed Mar. 27, 1968, Ser. No. 716,376 Int. Cl. B21b 13/10 U.S.Cl. 72225 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates toan apparatus for squaring or otherwise finishing or forming the end orends of a length of rod, wire, cable or the like. More particularly, itrelates to a method and apparatus for squaring the end or ends of aflexible cable to be used as a speedometer cable, in an automatic andcontinuous, uninterrupted operation.

The method and apparatus of the present invention are particularlyapplicable for squaring the ends of a flexible shaft to be used as aspeedometer cable, in a fashion such as to meet all of the presentlyexisting requirements and/ or specifications of the automotive industry.Furthermore, the ends of the flexible shaft are squared in a fashionsuch that they can be easily and quickly mated with a speedometer head.Further still, the method and appa ratus, as will be apparent from thedescription below, are equally applicable for use in numerous otherapplications or environments wherein the end or ends of a rod,- Wire,cable or the like must be squared or otherwise finished or formed.

In the past, several, generally three, individual operations wererequired to form speedometer cables from a continuous length of flexiblecable. For example, the flexible cable first is cut to provide aspeedometer cable of the desired length. Normally, this is accomplishedon a separate cutting apparatus, and the cut lengths of cable then aretransferred to a second station, including a press. At this secondstation, one end of the cut-to-length flexible cable is inserted intothe press, and the latter operated to square that end of the cable.Next, the opposite end of the cable is inserted into the press andlikewise squared.

It can be seen that this prior method of forming speedometer cablescreates a substantial material handling problem and, furthermore,requires several operators, or else, one operator must perform threeseparate individual operations, manually. Both require substantial timeand labor and, since labor costs are a material consideration, it isapparent that this prior method is costly and therefore undesirable.

Another disadvantage of this prior method is that the squaring on theends of the cable usually is accomplished by means of V-grooved dies inthe presses. It is a generally accepted fact that V-grooved dies resultin a cable having diamond-shaped or irregular corners, since it isvirtually impossible to apply an equal amount of pressure to the foursides of the cable to form the square. Unless extreme care is takenduring this pressing or forming operation, the cable may beunacceptable, since it will not mate properly with the speedometer head.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provideimproved methods and apparatus for squaring or otherwise forming the endor ends of a length of rod, wire, cable or the like.

Another object is to provide improved methods and apparatus for squaringor otherwise forming the ends of a length of rod, wire, cable or thelike, in a continuous, uninterrupted operation, all automatically.

A more particular object is to provide improved methods for squaring theend or ends of a flexible cable used 3,512,388 Patented May 19, 1970 asa speedometer cable. In this respect, it is contemplated that thespeedometer cable be formed in a continuous, un-interrupted automaticoperation.

Still another object is to provide improved methods and apparatus of theabove type which are easily and quickly adapted to form any of thestandard speedometer cables presently used and which, furthermore, areeasily adapted to form virtually any size cable.

Still another object is to provide improved methods and apparatus forforming speedometer cables which have a far faster production rate thanpresently used methods and apparatus. I

A still further object is to provide improved methods and apparatus forforming speedometer cables and the like which are easily and quicklyadapted to form them in various lengths.

A still further object is to provide improved methods and apparatus forsquaring the end or ends of rods, wires, cables and the like which areadapted to constantly provide substantially perfect cross-sectionshaving square corners, as opposed to diamond-shaped or irregularcorners.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

The above objectives are accomplished with apparatus including,generally, a feeding mechanism for feeding a continuous length of rod,wire, cable or the like, hereinafter generally referred to as wirecable, into the apparatus; a forming head including, in the illustratedembodiment, four toggle-actuated forming discs which are simultaneouslyoperated to clamp the wire cable between the peripheral edges thereofand to flatten the sides of the wire cable so as to square it; and awire parter which is operable to sever the material and to fuse thesevered ends so as to prevent them from underlaying, at the point alongthe length of the squared portion thereof. The operation is completelyautomatic and continuous, once the apparatus is initially set up to forma finished wire cable having a predetermined length.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope ofthe invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference should be had to the following detaileddescription taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a forming apparatus exemplary of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a side plan view of the forming mechanism of the apparatus ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along lines 33 of FIG. 2,illustrating the forming mechanism in its operated position to squarethe end or ends of the material;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side plan view of the cutting head;

FIG. 6 is a side plan view of the forming mechanism, partiallysectionalized so as to illustrate the manner in which the material to beformed is fed through it;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are side plan views of the forming mechanism, illustratingthe manner in which it is operated to clamp the material to square itand to advance the material through the forming mechanism as it is beingsquared, respectively;

FIG. 9' is a side plane view of one of the forming discs of the formingmechanism;

FIG. 10 is an end plan view of the forming disc of FIG. 9;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are side and end plan views, respectively, of one of theinserts in the forming disc of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along lines 1313 of FIG. 2;

. FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a portion of the wire cable,illustrating the manner in which it is squared and notched;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along lines 1515 of FIG. 14; and

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the wire cable, generally illustrating themanner in which it is parted at the notch formed therein.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, in FIG. 1 there is illustrated a formingapparatus 10 exemplary of the invention including a control console 11,a feeding mechanism 12, a forming head 14, a wire parter 15, a sensorunit 16, and a track 17. The control console 11 is of a welded angleconstruction having sheet material such as 16 gauge aluminum sheetmaterial affixed to it to provide an attractive, protective enclosurefor the electrical and pneumatic control circuitry which controls theoperation of the forming apparatus. A heavy coat of chip-proof bakedenamel preferably is bonded to the sheet material to further enhance itsappearance. The control console 11 also has a control panel 18 which ishinged so that it can be opened by pivotally swinging it downwardly, toprovide accessibility to the enclosed control circuitry for repairs, ifnecessary. A number of push buttons, such as the push button 19, a speedcontrol knob 20, and an indicator 21 are mounted on the control panel 18for controlling the operation of the apparatus 10, in the manner fullydescribed below.

The feeding mechanism 12 is mounted atop the control console 11, and isadapted to feed material which is in the illustrated embodiment is aflexible wire cable 22 (FIG. 6), to the forming head -14. As can be bestseen in FIGS. 2 and 13, the feeding mechanism 12 includes frame 24having a flat mounting plate 25 to which there is afiixed a pair ofspaced-apart roller support plates 26 and 27. A fixed roller 28 isdisposed between the roller support plates 26 and 27 and is aflixed to adrive shaft 29. The rotation of the drive shaft 29 is controlled bymeans of a clutch brake assembly 30 which can be a Warner clutch brake,and has a sprocket 32 aflixed to its one end. The sprocket 32 is coupledto and driven by motor means 33 which preferably is a variable speed DC.motor, by means of a chain drive 34.

A movable roller 36 is affixed to a shaft 37 which is retained withinelongated slots 38 formed in the roller support plates 26 and 27 andwhich is biased downwardly, by means of spring biasing assemblies 39, soas to maintain the roller 36 in peripheral contact with the roller 28.

The rollers 28 and 36 preferably are of nylon or other similar materialso as to reduce friction and wearing, and each of them has asemi-circular shaped groove 40 formed in its peripheral edge. Thesegrooves 40 are aligned and preferably are of a dimension such that theyform a circular-shaped aperture at the nip thereof which substantiallycorresponds in diameter to that of the wire cable 22. The wire cable isextended through this aperture and is fed, by the rollers 28 and 36, tothe forming head 14.

The forming head 14 includes a frame formed of a toggle arm supportmember 52 which is fixedly secured to and extends perpendicularlyoutwardly from a vertically disposed support plate 53. The toggle armsupport member 52 has four toggle arm support plates 54 which extendradially outwardly at angles of 90 with respect to one another, and isaffixed to the support plate 53 such that the toggle arm support plates54 are horizontally and vertically disposed. The forming head 14 ismounted atop the control console 11, by means of four pillar supports 41affixed to the top of the control console and to the horizontallydisposed toggle arm supports 54 of the toggle arm support member 52.

The forming head 14 also includes four forming discs 42-45, each ofwhich is afiixed to a shaft 46 and is fixedly retained between a pair ofgenerally triangular-shaped clevis arms 70. The shafts 46 and hence theclevis arms 70 and the forming discs 42-45 are each rotatably supportedwithin a pair of toggle arm plates 47 and 48 which together form atoggle arm 50. Four air cylinders 71 are affixed to the support plate53, and each of the clevis arms 70 is affixed to and operated by apiston rod 72 of one of these air cylinders 71 to rotate its associatedone of the forming disc 42-45.

The toggle arms 50 are each pivotally afiixed to one of the toggle armsupport plates 54 of the toggle arm support member 52, by slidablyextending the toggle arm support plates 54 between the toggle arm plates47 and 48 forming the toggle arms 50 and pivotally securing them thereinby means of pivot assemblies 51. The pivot assemblies 51 can be nuts andbolts, as illustrated, or other suitable pivotal fasteners.

The toggle arms 50 also are each pivotally connected to a toggle block55, by means of a toggle link 62, as can be best seen in FIG. 6. Thetoggle arm support member 52 is formed to receive the toggle block 55,and to permit the latter to operate in the manner described below. Thetoggle block '55 has a central bore which is threaded, and a piston rod56 of an air cylinder 57 is threaded into and preferably through it, asillustrated. The air cylinder 57 is secured to the support plate 53, andthe latter has an aperture 58 formed in it, for receiving the piston rod56. The piston rod 56 has a central bore 59 formed in it, for receivingthe wire cable 22 as it is fed to the forming head 14, as can be bestseen in FIG. 6. The feed mechanism 12 is fixedly secured to the aircylinder 57, so that the wire cable 22 is fed directly into the bore 59in the piston rod 56 and the need for additional guide means or the liketherefore is eliminated.

The forming discs 42-45 are identical in construction and, as can beseen in FIGS. 9-12 wherein the forming disc 42 is illustrated, theperipheral edges thereof are formed so as to provide two faces 64 and 65having an included angle of 90 and a flat land 66. This constructionallows for positive engagement of all four forming discs 42-45, and thusinsures as nearly perfect alignment and pressure distribution on thewire cable 22 as possible to obtain. Each of the forming discs also isadapted to receive three interchangeable segments 67-69, and needleroller bearings (not shown) in its central bore 73. These segments 67-69are the only portions of the forming discs 42-45 which contact the wirecable 22, and the fiat lands 66 thereon each are correspondingly sizedto form, respectively, the three standard size wire cables, presentlybeing used in forming speedometer cables. The forming discs 42-45 aremerely rotated within the clevis arms 70, to position the appropriateone of the segments 67-69 to engage the wire cable 22. This isaccomplished by removing the three screws (not shown), securing theforming disc within the clevis, rotating the forming disc to positionthe appropriate one of the segments 67-69 in working position, andreplacing the three screws. This arrangement therefore providessubstantial advantages over the arrangement presently used, since in thelatter, a complete die change normally is required.

The automotive industry presently specifies that the squared ends of thespeedometer cable also must have a generally rounded or pointed tip onthem. This is easily accomplished with the forming apparatus 10, byproviding a small, generally triangular-shaped projection 74 on each ofthe segments 67-69. As the forming discs are rotated, the wire cable 22is squared, and the projections 74 engage and pinch the wire cable toform a notch 75 in it, as illustrated in FIG. 14. Thereafter, the wirecable is cut at this notch 75 to provide a rounded or generally pointedtip on the ends of two lengths of the wire cable. More particularly, ascan be seen in FIGS. 14-16, the length that the wire cable 22 is squaredand the position at which the notch 75 is formed in it is such that,when severed or parted at the notch 75, the length of the squaredportion on each end of the severed wire cable corresponds to that whichis required on the opposite ends of the speedometer cable which is beingformed, in the illustrated embodiment. In other words, the opposite endsof a speedometer cable are formed during two succeeding cycles. The wirecable 22 is squared and notched, and when severed at the notch 75, onespeedometer cable is completed and the squared end is provided on oneend of the next speedometer cable to be formed. The latter speedometercable is completed during the next squaring and cutting cycles.

The segments 67-69 preferably and advantageously are skimmed when beingafiixed to the forming discs 42- 45, so that a constant radius may bemaintained. When the segments are worn and require refinishing, the skimis removed and one corresponding to the amount of material to be removedis placed behind the segment prior to grinding it. Also, as can be bestseen in FIG. 9, each of the segments 67-69 is removably afiixed to theforming discs by means of two threaded screws 76, so the se ments can beeasily and quickly replaced or properly skimmed for refinishing.

The wire parter is located just forward of the forming head 14 in apredetermined fixed position, as explained more fully below, and, as canbe best seen in- FIGS. 4 and 5, includes two electrodes 78 and 79,including electrode elements 80, 81 and 82, 83, respectively, whichoperate in conjunction with one another to sever the wire cable 22. Theelectrode 78 is stationary, and its electrode elements -81 is fixedlysecured to a support base 84 of the wire parter 15. Its electrodeelement 80, however, is secured to a generally L-shaped pivot lever 85which is pivotally afiixed to a pivot flange 86 secured to the supportbase 84 and which is pivotally operated by means of an air cylinder 87.The latter is affixed to a vertically disposed arm 89 of the supportbase 84 and has its piston rod 90 affixed to the pivot lever 85.

The electrode element 83 of the electrode 79 is fixedly secured to amovable base 92 Which is slidably supported on the support base 84. Anair cylinder 93 is afiixed to another arm 94 of the support base 84, andits piston rod 95 is affixed to the movable base 92. Upon operation ofthe air cylinder 93, the movable base 92 is longitudinally and slidablymoved, so as to separate the electrodes 78 and 79. The electrode element82 is pivotally affixed to the movable base 92 and is pivotally operatedby an air cylinder 96, in the same fashion as the electrode element -80.

In operation, the air cylinders 87 and 96 are operated simultaneously topivotally move the electrode elements 80 and 82 toward the respectiveelectrode elements 81 and 83. The wire cable 22 is clamped between thesepairs of electrode elements, and these electrode elements are energizedby means of a transformer (not shown) which is, in turn, energized whenthe electrode elements are in the closed or clamping position to meltthe wire cable..

The air cylinder 93 also is operated at this time, to move the electrode79, in spaced relation to the electrode 78. This action acuses thewire'cable 22 to sever or part, at the notch 75. The movement of theelectrode 79 is coordinated so that electrode is moved as the wire cablereaches a molten state, to prevent to some extent spatter and globulingof the molten material. For most efiicient operation, the heat generatedby the electrodes 78 and 79 should be kept at maximum level. The sealingor fusing of the end of the wire cable 22 is controlled by the speed atwhich the electrode 79 is moved away from the electrode 78. Afterparting the wire cable 22, the air cylinders 87, 93 and 96 arede-energized, to release the wire cable and to permit the movable base92 to reutrn to its initial position.

The sensor unit 16 is mounted on a guide 91 in a fashion such that itcan be slidably and lockingly positioned at any point along the lengthof the guide 91. The sensor unit 16 includes three high frequencycapacitance type sensing heads 97-99 which are mounted in predeterminedspaced relationship in a support plate 100, so as to extend over thetrack 17. These sensing heads 97- 99 detect the end of the wire cable 22as it is adavnced in the track 17 and feed control signals to thecontrol circuitry of the forming apparatus 10, to operate the latter inthe manner described below.

The track 17 is mounted adjacent to the guide 91 and includes two plates100 and 101 which are hingedly atfixed together in a fashion such as toform a piano hinged V-groove which serves as a wire guide 102. Whenusing a high frequency capacitance type sensor unit 16, as in theillustrated embodiment, the plates 100 and 101 forming the wire guide102 must be of a material other than steel in order that the wire cable22 can be detected. The plate 100 of the wire guide 102 has the pistonrod (not shown) of an air cylinder 103 afiixed to it in a fashion suchthat the plate 100 is pivotally operated to spill the formed wire cable22 into a collecting tray 104.

Now that the construction of the forming apparatus 10 has beendescribed, its operation can be described as follows. The end of thecontinuous length of wire cable 22 is inserted between the nip of thetwo rollers 28 and 36 of the feeding mechanism 12, and power is thenapplied to the forming apparatus 10 and the motor 33 of the formingmechanism 12. Next, the clutch brake 30 of the feeding mechanism 12 isenergized and released to permit the feeding mechanism 12 to feed thewire cable 22 into the forming apparatus 10. The wire cable 22 is fedbetween the two rollers 28 and 36, into and through the bore 59 of thepiston rod 56 of the air cylinder 57, and between the forming discs42-45, generally as illustrated in FIG. 6. Initially, at the start of anoperation,

the wire cable 22 is advanced until its end extends approximately oneinch beyond the nip point of the forming discs 42-45. The clutch *brake30 is then deenergized.

The air cylinder 57 next is operated to expel its piston rod 56, toinitiate the start of a squaring cycle. The piston rod 56 moves to theleft, as illustrated, and in turn,

'moves the toggle block 55 to the left. This movement of the toggleblock 55 simultaneously operates the four toggle links 62, to pivotallymove the four toggle arms 50, about the pivot assemblies 51, to clampthe wire cable 22 between the forming discs 42-45, as can be best seenin FIGS. 3 and 7. The pressure exerted on the wire cable 22 by theforming discs 42-45 squares the wire cable at the point of contact. Amicroswitch controlling a solenoid valve (neither of which are shown)which, in turn, controls the operation of the four air cylinders 71coupled to the clevis arms 70 is operated by the toggle block 55 when itreaches its forward position. The solenoid valve controlled by it isoperated and, in turn, simultaneously operates the four air cylinders 71to retract their piston rods 72, as illustrated in FIG. 8. As the pistonrods 72 are retracted, the clevis arms 70 and hence the forming discs4245 aflixed to them are rotated in a counter-clockwise direction. Thewire cable 22 is advanced between the forming discs 4245 as the latterrotate, and is squared along a length thereof corresponding to thearcuate angle through which the forming discs 42-45 are rotated. Theprojections 74 on the working one of the segments 6769 of the formingdiscs pinch the Wire cable at a predetermined point along the length ofits squared portion so as to form the notch 75 in it. When the pistonrods 72 of the air cylinders 71 are retracted to form the requiredsquared length on the wire cable 22, another microswitch (not shown) isoperated. This microswitch is coupled to and controls the operation ofand causes the air cylinders 71 and 57 to restore to their initialoperating positions, to ready them for the next cycle of operation. I

The wire cable 22 now is moved forward manually, by rotating the upperroller 36 of the feeding mechanism 12 in a clockwise direction, andsimultaneously guiding the end of the wire cable through an apertureguide 106 (FIG. 2). The wire cable is advanced until the notch 75 isaligned with the electrode gap 107 of the wire parter 15. When aligned,the air cylinders 87 and 96 of the wire parter 15 are operated to causethe electrode ele ments 80 and 82 to pivot and to thereby clamp the wirecable between them and the electrode elements 81 and 83, respectively.As indicated above, when these electrode elements 80 and 82 are in theclamping position, the transformer (not shown) which supplies power tothe wire parter is energized to heat the wire cable 22 to a molten stateand the means (not shown) controlling the operation of the air cylinder93 is operated to cause the electrode 79 to move away from the electrode78. The wire cable 22 is thereby caused to part at the notch 75 so thatthe end of the continuous length of wire cable 22 which is fed throughthe forming apparatus is squared back along a predetermined length andits 'tip is generally pointed, as can be best s en in FIGS. 14-16. Theremnant cut off the end of the wire cable is removed.

The sensor unit 16 now is slidably positioned along the guide 91 untilthe centerline of the sensing head 99 thereof is positioned tocorrespond to the desired length of wire cable. The centerline of thesensing head 99 can be appropriately marked and a calibrated scaleprovided on the guide 91 or on the Wire guide 102 so that the sensorunit 16 can be easily and quickly positioned. The sensor unit is lockedin the desired position, by locking means (not shown) such as a toggleclam or the like.

The forming apparatus 10 now is set up for automatic operation. Uponenergizing it, the wire cable 22 will be fed to it by the feedingmechanism 12 and will be rapidly advanced through the forming apparatus10 to the sensing head 97 which detects it. The sensing head 97 feeds asignal to the control circuit which causes the latter to operate uponthe feeding mechanism 12 to slow the rate or speed at which the wirecable fed to the forming apparatus. This rate or speed can be adjustablycontrolled by adjusting the speed control knob 20. The end of the wirecable 22 advances at this slower rate to the sensing head 98 whichdetects it and feeds a signal to the control circuitry to trigger thesquaring cycle.

The forming head 14 is operated in the above described fashion to squareand to form the notch 75 in the squared portion of the wire cable, andupon completion of the squaring cycle, the wire cable is advanced to andde-' tected by the sensing head 99.

The sensing head 99 feeds a contrrol signal to the control circuitry totrigger the cut-off cycle. The wire parter 15 is operated in the abovedescribed fashion to cut the wire cable, and the resulting formed lengthof wire cable or, in the illustrated embodiment, a speedometer cable ofpredetermined length, is spilled into the collecting tray 10 The spaceddistance between the sensing heads 98 and 99 and between the electrodegap 107 and the centerline of the forming discs 42-45 is equal so thatthe sensing head 99 triggers the operation of the wire parter 15 whenthe notch 75 is positioned or aligned with the electrode gap 107. Inthis way, the operation of the forming head 14 and the wire parter 15are coordinated so that the wire cable 22 always is severed at the notch75, during each cycle of operation. This sequence of operation willrepeat itself, automatically, until the operation of the formingapparatus 10 is interrupted by turning it ii0fi.!,

The operation of the forming apparatus 10 to initially set it up forautomatic operation and to thereafter automatically form the wire cableis controlled by operating the appropriate ones of the different pushbuttons 19 on the control panel 19 of the control console 11. An

Emergency Stop push button also is provided on the control panel 19, theoperation of which immediately stops the operation of the formingapparatus 10, in the event of an emergency.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above,

among those made apparent from the preceding description, areefliciently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the aboveconstruction without departing from the scope of the invention, it isintended that all matter contained in the above description or shown inthe accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and notin a limiting sense.

it is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of the scope of the invention, which, as amatter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Now that the invention has been described what is claimed as new anddesired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for forming a plurality of adjacent, connected flatsurfaces on one or both ends of material such as rods, wires, cables andthe like comprising, in combination: a forming head including aplurality of forming discs, the peripheral edge of each of said formingdiscs has two angled faces having an included angle of and a flat landof a predetermined width, said forming discs being positionally disposedand movable with respect to one another to captivate said materialbetween the flat lands on the peripheral edges thereof and to exertpressure on said material so as to flatten said material to provide flatsurfaces thereon corresponding in number to the number of forming discs,and means for moving said forming discs to captivate said materialbetween the flat lands on the peripheral edges thereof and to exertpressure on said material to form said flat surfaces.

2. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, including four of said formingdiscs, each of which is disposed and movable with respect to one anotherso as to provide four flat surfaces on said material, whereby the end ofsaid material has a square cross-section.

3. Apparatus for forming a plurality of adjacent, connected flatsurfaces on one or both ends of material such as rods, wires, cables andthe like comprising, in combination: a forming head including fourforming discs which are positionally disposed and movable with respectto one another to captivate said material between the peripheral edgesthereof and to exert pressure on said material 50 as to flatten saidmaterial to provide four flat surfaces whereby said material has asquare cross-section, and means for moving said forming discs tocaptivate said material between the peripheral edges thereof and toexert pressure on said material to form said flat surfaces, said meansfor moving said forming discs comprising a toggle arm for each of saidforming discs, said toggle arms each being affixed at one end thereof torespective ones of said forming discs and at the other end thereofhaving a toggle link which is affixed to a toggle block, saidarrangement being such that said to gle arms are simultaneously pivotedto captivate said material between the peripheral edges of said formingdiscs when said toggle block is positionably adjusted with respect tosaid toggle arms.

4. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 3, further including lever meansaflixed to each of said toggle arms and having the forming discassociated with that toggle arm affixed to it, and means coupled to andpivotally operating said lever means to rotate said forming discs toadvance and to square said material along the length thereof which isadvanced between said forming discs.

,5. Apparatus for forming a plurality of adjacent, connected flatsurfaces on one or both ends of material such as rods, wires, cables andthe like comprising, in combination: a forming head including fourforming discs which are positionally disposed and movable with respectto one another to captivate said material between the peripheral edgesthereof and to exert pressure on said material so as to flatten saidmaterial to provide four flat surfaces thereon whereby said material hasa square cross-section, means for moving said forming discs to captivatesaid material between the peripheral edges thereof and to exert pressureon said material to form said flat surfaces, feeder means for feedingsaid material to said apparatus, cutting means for severing saidmaterial, sensor means for detecting the end of said material, andcontrol means operated in response to control signals from said forminghead and said sensor means to operate said feeder means to feed saidmaterial to said apparatus, to operate said forming head to square saidmaterial, to operate said sensor means to measure a predetermined lengthof said material, and to operate said cutter means to sever saidmeasured length of material, automatically and in a repetitive fashion.

'6. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 5, wherein said feeder meanscomprises a pair of rollers adapted to retain said material between themin a fashion such that said material is advanced when said rollers arerotated, at least one of said. rollers being rotatably driven, andclutch brake means coupled to said rotatably driven roller forcontrolling its rotation.

7. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 5, wherein said cutting head comprisesa fixed electrode and a movable electrode, each having a fixed electrodeelement and a movable electrode element which is pivotally operable toclamp said material between it and said fixed electrode element, saidfixed and movable electrodes being energized when said movable electrodeelements have pivotally operated to clamp said material to heat saidmaterial sufiiciently so that said material will sever when said movableelectrode is moved away from said fixed electrode.

8. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 7, wherein said cutting head includesan air cylinder coupled to each of said movable electrode elements whichare simultaneously operable to pivotally operate said movable electrodeelements to clamp said material between them and said fixed electrodeelements and an air cylinder coupled to and operable in timedrelationship with the operation of said movable electrode elements tomove said movable electrode away from said fixed electrode.

9. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 5, wherein said sensor means comprisesthree high frequency capacitance sensing heads afiixed to support meansin spaced relationship to one another, a first one of said sensing headsbeing operable to detect the end of said material and to feed a controlsignal to said control means to cause said feeder means to slow the rateof feed of material to said apparatus, a second one of said sensingheads being operable to detect the end of said material and to feed acontrol signal to said control means to cause said forming head tooperate to square said material, and a third one of said sensing headsbeing operable to detect the end of said material and to feed a controlsignal to said control means to cause said cutting means to operate tosever said material.

10. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 5, further including a guide forslidably supporting said sensor means to permit said sensor means to bepositionably located with respect to said cutting head to cut a lengthof material having a predetermined length, a collecting tray, and aV-shaped track adjacently affixed to said guide for supporting saidmaterial as it is advanced, said track having one side thereof which ispivotally operable to spill the cut length of material into saidcollecting tray.

11. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said forming discshas a projection on said fiat land, said projections being adapted topinch said material to form a notch in it.

12. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said forming discshas a plurality of insert segments removably affixed to it, each of saidinsert segments having the peripheral edge formed with two angled faceshaving an included angle of and a flat land of a predetermined widthsized in accordance with the material upon Which the flat surfaces areto be formed, said flat lands on each of said segments being different,whereby said flat surfaces can be formed on different diameter materialssimply by rotatably adjusting said forming discs to place theappropriate one of said insert segments in a working position.

13. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 12, wherein each of said insertsegments has a projection on its fiat land, said projections on theworking ones of said insert segments being adapted to pinch saidmaterial to form a notch in it.

14. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 11, wherein said cutting means ismounted in a spaced position from the centerline of said forming discsand wherein said sensor means has at least two sensing heads operable todetect the end of said material and to feed a control signal to saidcontrol apparatus to cause said forming head to operate to square saidmaterial and to cause said cutting means to operate to sever saidmaterial, respectively, said two sensing heads being spaced apart adistance corresponding to the distance between said cutting means andthe centerline of said forming discs, whereby said cutting means isoperated to sever said material at said notch so as to simultaneouslyprovide an end having a squared cross-section and a generally pointedtip on the opposite ends of two lengths of said material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,347,078 2/1965 Keska et a1.72-225 RICHARD J. HERBST, Primary Examiner M. J. KEENAN, AssistantExaminer US. Cl. X.R. 72 402, 451

